Italy Travel Series by Joseph Gardner

This week’s feature comes at the perfect time. All of our thoughts and prayers are with Italy right now, and this travel series from film photographer Joseph Gardner is such a beautiful look at the country. Here is more from Joseph about his time in Italy…

This past August, we decided to take our first big family trip since our son, Ansel, was born two years previous. I am from England and my wife is from Tennessee, and we live in San Diego, California. The rest of my family (Father, Mother, Brother, Sister and her husband and two little boys), live in England. We wanted to pick a place that was new to us but close enough that my family could meet us there.

We settled on Italy and took a long time planning out an extensive itinerary that would work for the whole family. We were going to fly from California to Zurich, Switzerland, take the train to Lake Como, then rent a car and do the following drive over 3 weeks: Lake Como, Verona, Venice, Florence, Rome.

To put it mildly, Italy blew us away. As a photographer, it was like being a kid in a candy shop. The colors, the history, the architecture was all incredible. As a photographer who is also a parent, it was at times frustrating, as I couldn’t get out to shoot during magic hour much due to parental duties and had to juggle shooting and being a dedicated dad.

Still, I had a blast using my Mamiya RZ67 and Nikon FM2 and would love the opportunity to return for a more dedicated trip. I shot mostly Portra 400, mainly due to comfort level, but I found it suited the pastel colors of Italy really well. 

Analog cameras and films used: Mamiya RZ67 (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay), Nikon FM2 (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon)

Connect with Joseph: Website | Instagram

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